This invention relates to a wear sleeve and more particularly to a local application of a seal ring on the inner periphery of the wear sleeve to provide a narrow inner peripheral seal and allowing heat transfer through the major portion of the wear sleeve for cooler operation of the shaft within the wear sleeve.
Sleeve journals have been used on the various machinery to provide a replaceable sleeve on the shafts which encounters the greatest wear. A seal may wear a groove in a crankshaft while the crankshaft may still have considerable life. A replaceable wear sleeve restores the seal and extends the life of the crankshaft. The Cox patent, U.S. Pat. No. 2,879,112, is an illustration of a replaceable sleeve on a shaft in which the sleeve can be replaced when a predetermined amount of wear is incurred by the shaft of the bushing in the bearing box. Replaceable sleeves are also used with seals in which the wear sleeve has a seal on its total inner periphery which engages the external periphery of the shaft to form an oil seal on the shaft end. A sealing means may also be provided on a wear sleeve in which the sleeve is made of a mild steel and forced on a shaft with an interference fit between the wear sleeve and the shaft. One problem with this type of a seal, however, is that the peripheral surfaces of the shaft or the wear sleeve may have defects caused by scratches, interruptions, or unevenness which present a problem under the circumstances where an oil leak cannot be tolerated.
Accordingly, a rubber sleeve between the interface to seal the wear sleeve with the shaft is usually provided. This form of a seal, however, it also produces an insulation between the wear sleeve and the shaft and causes the shaft to run at a higher temperature than normal. Accordingly, the application of a seal ring on a small portion of the shaft or inner periphery of the wear sleeve will overcome the problem of heat transfer from the shaft to the wear sleeve and provide cooler operating condition for the shaft and sleeve. The seal ring is of a soft material such as rubber, soft plastic, epoxy, etc.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a wear sleeve with a peripheral seal ring on the inner periphery of the wear sleeve and a metal to metal interface on the major portion of the inner periphery of the wear sleeve to provide the good heat transfer.
It is another object of this invention to provide a wear sleeve having an inner periphery formed with a seal ring over a limited interface between the wear sleeve and the shaft and the major portion of the interface formed by a metal to metal contact for good heat transfer from the shaft through the wear sleeve.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a wear sleeve formed with an annular recess at the end of the inner periphery which engages a chamfered end on the shaft to form a positive seal between the interface of the seal and the shaft and a metal to metal contact of the remaining portion of the interface for good heat transfer from the shaft to the wear sleeve.
The object of this invention is accomplished by providing a wear sleeve on the end of a shaft. The end of the shaft is formed with a chamfer or other form of recess and the end of the wear sleeve is formed with a taper or lip producing a recess or entraped area on the inner periphery of the wear sleeve. A seal ring is formed in the recess of the wear sleeve which engages the chamfer or end of the shaft to form oil seal preventing axial flow between the wear sleeve and the shaft. A major portion of the interface between the shaft and wear sleeve is a metal to metal interface providing good heat transfer from the shaft through the sleeve of the sealed assembly.